Massacre Gun: $571 for 9 mm Glock and 50 Bullets at Roanoke Store

April 19, 2007

By BRIAN ROSS AND RICHARD ESPOSITO REPORT:

Seung-Hui Cho bought his first gun, a 9mm handgun, on March 13 at a Roanoke, Va. gun store, the owner tells ABC News.

John Markell, the owner of Roanoke Firearms, said today that he had been interviewed by three agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms about Cho's purchase of a Glock 9 mm handgun.

"I feel terrible about this," Markell told ABC News at his store today, which is part gun shop, part pawn shop on the outskirts of Roanoke.

Markell said Cho's gun and a box of 50 bullets cost $571. He said Cho paid by credit card and left the store with the gun.

Markell said Cho was "a clean-cut college kid," and the transaction was entirely legal under Virginia law. "He was as cordial as could be, and there was nothing unusual in his manner that suggested any thing wrong," Markell said. Markell said he was not present when Cho bought the gun, but that he had produced a state driver's license and an immigration card.